1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling printing means so as to receive order information and to carry out printing according to the order information. The present invention also relates to a computer-readable recording medium storing a program to cause a computer to execute the printing control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital photographic service systems for carrying out various kinds of digital photographic services such as storing photographic images obtained by a user in an image server after digitization, providing the images to the user after recording the images in a CD-R, and receiving an order of additional prints of the images have been known. In such a system, a user reproduces the images by installing, in his/her personal computer, dedicated viewer software for reproducing images recorded in a CD-R. In the case where an additional print is ordered, the user generates an order file describing the content of the order by using an ordering function of the viewer software. The user then brings the order file and the CD-R to a DPE store and the DPE store sends the order file and the CD-R to a laboratory where the ordered image is generated.
Furthermore, network photographic service systems for storing (registering) digital images of users in systems of service providers and for receiving printing orders or the like via networks such as the Internet have also been proposed as one form of the digital photographic service systems.
In such a network photographic service system, a server computer (hereinafter called an “image server”) having a scanner, a printer, and a large-capacity disc is installed in a wholesale laboratory for providing the digital photographic services to users. Images photographed by users are stored in the image server and various kinds of services such as ordering additional prints, attachment of the images to an e-mail message, and downloading of image data are provided by enabling the users to access the image server via a network. In such a service, a user accesses the image server from his/her personal computer by using predetermined application software and orders an additional print or the like. Meanwhile, in the laboratory, photographic processing such as additional print generation, generation of picture postcards, generation of an album, composition of images, and trimming is carried out on the image data based on order information from the user and transfers the processed data to the user or notifies the user of completion of the processing by using an e-mail message.
The “order information” herein referred to means information such as a processing number indicating the content of the service (such as additional print generation and postcard generation), an image number indicating an image, a print size, a print quantity, the quality of print paper (glossy or non-glossy), thickness of the print paper, the content of the photographic processing, and trimming information.
In the network photographic service system described above, printing is carried out after an operator in the laboratory has confirmed the content of the order information. In the case where the content of the order information is a printing order including text, such as postcard generation, it is necessary to confirm the content of the text or the arrangement of the text. Therefore, confirmation by the operator is indispensable. However, depending on the content of the order information, confirmation of all the order information merely increases a workload on the operator, since there are some cases where printing can be carried out immediately without confirmation, such as the case of ordinary printing of only one photograph.
The present invention has been conceived based on consideration of the above problem. An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a printing control method and a printing control apparatus enabling reduction of an operator's workload upon carrying out printing according to order information, and also to provide a computer-readable recording medium storing a program to cause a computer to execute the printing control method.